IAG Cargo’s commercial revenue was up in the third quarter reaching €238 million against €236m last year, despite challenging market conditions.
Yields came under pressure, decreasing 4.5 per cent at constant exchange rates. Volumes finished 4.7 per cent down on the prior year.
CEO Steve Gunning said: “We have made the point in the past that the air cargo market has established a ‘new normal’, with excess capacity and reduced demand leading to significant price and yield pressures. In Q1, the West Coast port strike in the US gave the air cargo market some respite from this new normal, but the past two quarters have seen a return to more challenging conditions.
“In light of this, our strategy and operational model is more relevant than ever; with a strong focus on cost control, premium products and smart partnerships critical to our success. We have made good progress over the quarter against all these strategic goals, and our decision to remove our wet-lease freighter capacity from our fleet and focus on a partnership model has proved justified. We have also seen our premium product strategy succeed, with particularly strong growth for our important Constant Climate product. Premium products as a whole now represent more of our business than ever, with record revenue and tonnage figures.”
